mac samoa silk eyeshadow

MAC Eyeshadow Swatches – Oranges, Yellows, Golds

More MAC eyeshadow swatches for the Swatch Gallery! I’m working my way through my “permanent” palettes (which are organized by color and house mostly permanent shades, but there are a few discontinued/limited edition shades in them) for now. I don’t own all of MAC’s permanent eyeshadows, so some shades may be missing that fall into one of the color categories.

Rule is a medium orange, not too bright or dark, with a matte finish.Coral is an orange-coral–honestly more orange than a true coral–with a matte finish. It was a PRO shade but may have been discontinued.Samoa Silk is a peachy orange with a veluxe finish (which looks and acts mostly like a matte).Goldenrod is a darkened yellow with a hint of orange. It has a satin finish.Juiced is a dirty orange with gold shimmer and a velvet finish. It is a discontinued shade.Goldmine is a gold-shimmered yellow gold with a metallic sheen. It has a frost finish.Bright Sunshine is a bright yellow with a frost finish. It is a PRO shade.Bright Yellow is a muted canary yellow with a seemingly matte finish. I don’t know what the official finish of this is, and as far as I know, it was discontinued. It was a PRO shade.Gorgeous Gold is a soft, yellowy gold with a green-blue iridescence. It has a veluxe pearl finish.Nylon is a pale white gold with a high shine finish. It has a frost finish.

MAC’s matte finishes tend to be a harder/drier matte, which translate better in actual eyeshadow application rather than a simple swatch, but shades like Rule are excellent on both fronts. I’ve often reached for Rule when I wanted to do a sunset-themed eye look. Shades like Bright Sunshine and Nylon have stellar color payoff, while Juiced easily sheers out. Gorgeous Gold has a fun duochrome, and it works well with blues, greens, and teals.

Where to Buy

Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.

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For eyes, start by applying Smudgeproof as your eyeshadow base all over the eye area with the 249. Using the 239, apply Sour Lemon eyeshadow on the lower lid. Lightly blend Samoa Silk eyeshadow from the lower crease to above the crease with the 239. Next, apply Vibrant Grape eyeshadow into the crease with the 226. Blend Orb eyeshadow with the crease shade and highlight the brow bone, then lightly tap Femme-fi eyeshadow right beneath the brow for shimmer. Bring everything together by applying Flipside liner on the lower lash line. Finish by sweeping lashes with Plushlash mascara.

For cheeks, apply Sugarbomb blush on the apples of the cheeks and sweep upwards towards the temple with the 116.

For lips, apply Capricious lipstick first, and then layer Springbean lustreglass for a complementing lip.

6 Must-Have Orange MAC Eyeshadows

About the Temptalia Must-Haves Series

A series of posts showcasing must-have products from MAC Cosmetics’ permanent line of products. Selections are based on quality, universality, uniqueness amongst the line, and the like. Limited edition shades are deliberately excluded to make buying easier.Readers’ comments act as a supplement to these lists of their favorites and must-haves. You can find the entire series here.

Orange eyeshadow is the truest orange available by MAC. It’s an oldie, but it’s a goody. With a matte texture, Orange can provide a ton of dimension whether used on the lid or crease.

Motif eyeshadow is a peachy-orange duochrome with a shimmery finish. I love it for the different ways it’ll look, depending on the colors next to it.

Gleam eyeshadow is a light, highlighter peachy shade. It’s pretty and easy to use for even someone who may be color shy.